: The elevation of Surjya Kanta Mishra as secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in West Bengal comes when the party is facing one of the most challenging situations.
Not only has it suffered a series of electoral setbacks, there has also been a dent in its support base with a section of its supporters siding with the BJP.
Dr Mishra, however, is confident that the situation will not remain the same in the coming years. “Nothing remains static in our polity,” he told The Hindu, citing examples on how Indian democracy has moved ahead despite serious challenges like the Emergency.
“We have to earn the confidence of the people,” Dr Mishra said, expressing hope that people will realise that the Left is the only alternative to the pro-corporate and Hindutva forces which are ruling the nation.
Explaining that the setback to Left forces in West Bengal were a result of sustained attack on democracy by different reactionary forces in the State, he said, “The Left parties had to pay the highest price in these attacks. Added to this, communal divisions in society orchestrated both by the BJP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) has resulted in some of our supporters siding with the BJP.”
He has not commented on the expected changes at the highest decision making bodies — the Central Committee and the Polit Bureau — in the forthcoming Party Congress.
For Dr Mishra, who has been a minister in the previous Left Front government, communal forces are gaining ground in the State is the biggest challenge.
He expressed concerns over the ongoing probe by the National Investigation Agency into the alleged terror plot operating across several districts of West Bengal by Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (Bangladesh), saying it is superficial as it has not tried to look into the links between terror operatives and the State’s ruling party, which has shielded and supported these anti-national forces.
The CPI(M) State Secretary said that a sudden shift in stand of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vis-à-vis Bangladesh and her recent visit to the neighbouring country should be viewed as ‘opportunism and political compulsion’, which guides most of her policies.
